States of Emergency as a Presidential Vice
Corporate attorney Mariana Henao published an article in Asuntos Legales about the recurring use of states of emergency by the Colombian government as a shortcut to govern by decree, bypassing the ordinary legislative process in Congress. Ms. Henao reviews cases from former Presidents Ernesto Samper and Álvaro Uribe to current President Gustavo Petro to show how, despite differing ideologies, all have resorted to this mechanism to circumvent a slower, more controlled and less certain legislative process. Her article highlights that, although a 1991 law imposes an automatic and immediate judicial review by the Constitutional Court, the temptation to govern by decree remains: Decrees are struck down as unconstitutional, but not before producing effects that subsequent annulment cannot reverse, and without the abuse of emergency powers costing the government any real political consequences.